POV — one of the nation’s documentary powerhouses — is streaming for a limited time “When a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front,” directed by Marshall Curry and Sam Cullman. Here’s a trailer:

A stirring film about war vets tackling a Himayalan peak, a tale of dogged environmental stewardship unfolding in extremely cold climes, a documentary about mustangs in the West. These were some of the themes of the movies named “best” during Sunday’s closing night at the 8th Boulder International Film Festival. The winners are…. Read more…

We’ve got three weeks before “And the Oscar Goes To…” (Feb. 26, ABC) Here’s a video library of best picture nominees — with a little attitude from Mad Moviegoer.

Each time Mad Moviegoer sees this marvelously crafted confection, I like it, well, a bit less. The opposite happened last year with “The King’s Speech” which seemed to get better with each viewing. There are smarter films (“Moneyball”), more emotionally resonant movies (“The Descendants”), even more poignant if nostalgia-inclined rides (“Hugo”). But this one’s status as a front-runner seems to prove just how Herculean Harvey Weinstein’s Oscar campaign shove can be. “The Artist” is up 10 statuettes, including best picture, best director, best actor, best supporting actress, best original screenplay.

Park City, UT — “I have a good feeling,” filmmaker Davis Coombe said Monday night at a Sundance Film Festival party. The Denver-based editor wasn’t talking about the climate-change doc “Chasing Ice,” which had just received a standing ovation at its world premiere. He was feeling good about this morning’s Academy Award nominees announcement. His inkling was right.

Denver director Daniel Junge’s “Saving Face” — which Coombe produced and edited — is nominated for best documentary short. This is Junge’s second run at an Oscar in that category. In 2009, “The Last Campaign of Governor Booth Gardner” –about Washington’s former governor and his work on die-with-dignity legislation — was up for the statuette.

“Dan’s become able to craft films that speak to a wide audience and yet cover delicate and sensitive subject matter,” Coombe said after hearing the news.

For “Saving Face,” Junge traveled to Pakistan to tell the story of survivors of acid attacks. “He’s gone from legal suicide to women burned by their own husbands.”

“We worried about him a lot,” said his producer. “It was the first time Milkhaus (a local production company and filmmaking hotbed) had to take out a death and dismemberment policy and extraction insurance.” HBO will premiere the short in March and Junge also got funds from Britain’s Channel Four.

“It’s kind of surreal. It’s weird after yesterday,” Coombe added, a little groggy after the 6:30 a.m. announcement. After all, “Chasing Ice,” the Boulder-produced documentary he edited is getting plenty of Sundance fanfare. “This is the opposite of adding insult to injury.”

With the American Society of Cinematographers’ announcement Wednesday morning of its nominees, the Oscar picture comes into sharper focus.

Glaring is the omission of “War Horse.” Janusz Kaminski’s absence from the list is the second blow in as many days to Steven Spielberg’s chances of a Kodak Theatre moment. Earlier this week, the Directors Guild appeared to opt for David Fincher and his “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.” Now the ASC has followed suit, naming Fincher’s shooter, Jeff Cronenweth, among its noms.

To a man (and they are all men), the five nominees have crafted handsome, evocative films. So the question might be: How much does the cinematographer’s vision aid his movie’s chances of being named the best come Oscar night? In that regard, Guillaume Schiffman appears to add more ballast to the on-again, off-again. front-runner status of the sumptuous, b&w silent “The Artist.”

Martin Scorsese collaborator Robert Richardson gave “Hugo” fluid and vivid energy and, with the aid of editor Thelma Schoonmaker, honored another filmmaker’s vision within his own. Hoyte van Hoytema’s deceptively muted, utterly methodical work on “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy” makes the return to John le Carré’s Cold War thriller gripping even as it looks retro.

Evenso, for Mad Moviegoer the question remains: Has anyone made a lovelier film than director Terrence Malick and his ace Emmanuel Lubezki’s “The Tree of Life”?

Rooney Mara is Lizbeth Salander in Directors Guild nominee "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo"

The noms keep rolling in as the Directors Guild of America choose its contenders for the best director. Who’s in: David Fincher for “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo,” Woody Allen for “Midnight in Paris,” Martin Scorsese for “Hugo,” Alexander Payne for “The Descendants” and Michel Hazanavicius for “The Artist.” Who’s missing? Steven Spielberg for “War Horse,” Bennett Miller for “Moneyball” and Terrence Malick for “The Tree of Life.”

The keeper of the Golden Globes, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, has spoken: “The Artist” –an updated black-and-white, silent movie by French director Michel Hazanavicius set in Los Angeles as talkies begin to spell the end of the Silent Era — leads this year’s Globe nominees. Also doing quite well: “The Help” and “The Descendants.”

The Golden Globes Awards (Sunday, Jan. 15) are often treated as the surest predictor of the Academy Awards, though the organization of 90 members demands some serious caveats. There’s more than a little fool’s gold in them thar Hollywood Hills one feels. But more on the marketing genuis of the Globes shortly. Meanwhile, this year’s Golden Globe nominees include:

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
“The Flowers of War” THE FLOWERS OF WAR (CHINA)
“In the Land of Blood and Honey”
“The Kid with the Bike”
“A Separation” d. A
“The Skin I Live In”.

9. BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A
MOTION PICTURE
a. BERENICE BEJO THE ARTIST
b. JESSICA CHASTAIN THE HELP
c. JANET MCTEER ALBERT NOBBS
d. OCTAVIA SPENCER THE HELP
e. SHAILENE WOODLEY THE DESCENDANTS

John Goodman (right) in "The Artist," which scored a number of Screen Actors Guild nominations

Wednesday morning Starz Denver Film Festival honoree Judy Greer and “Southland” actress Regina King announced the nominees for the 18th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards, with casts from “The Artist” and “The Help” garnering the most nominations.

The nominees for film include something of a surprise with R-rated comedy “Bridesmaids” among the ensembles competing for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture

Unlike the often times idiosyncratic critics kudos, the SAG Awards begin to offer Oscar handicappers a truer sense of the competition for the Academy Awards (Feb. 26)

Greer, who appears “The Descendants” — a SAG-nominated ensemble — was in town in November to receive the Denver fest’s John Cassavetes Award, only the third woman and the first actress to earn the honor. Greer and King announced nominations in five film and eight television categories. The 18th Screen Actors Guild Awards show will be simulcast live on TNT and TBS, Sunday, Jan. 29, at 6 p.m. (MT).

After a few days of chaos, something to celebrate about February’s Oscar telecast: Billy Crystal is returning to host. Crystal’s tweet beat out any Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ release — and this week they’ve been cranking them.

“Am doing the Oscars so the young woman in the pharmacy will stop asking my name when I pick up my prescriptions,” the most popular host since Bob Hope tweeted. “Looking forward to the show.”

Lisa Kennedy has been The Denver Post film critic for quite a spell. The job returned her to the town she grew up in after 20 years of living elsewhere: mostly in New York City. During the time she's been back, she was voted into the National Society of Film Critics, a first for a Colorado reviewer. When she began Diary of a Mad Moviegoer, she wasn't just cribbing from Tyler Perry. In fact, she seldom goes all Madea on movies, thinking the gig is more like a conversation than a competition about who's right about which flick.